Having fallen out of GC contention, Lampre-Merida are chasing stage wins in the remaining part of the Giro d'Italia and today it was time for the team's young climbers to shine. Mattia Cattaneo and Jan Polanc were part of the successful break in stage 14 and the latter even got close to the stage win.

Lampre-Merida have already won two stages in the Giro d'Italia but the Italian team has no intention of settling for that score. Today they again rode aggressivey in the first big Alpine stage of the race and again they came close to the win.

This tim it was their youngsters Jan Polanc and Mattia Cattaneo that animated the stage by making it into the tight 21-rider breakaway. On the final climb, they both showed their cards, Cattaneo with an early attack and Polanc with a great comeback in the finale.

Polanc caught leaders Dario Cataldo and Jarlinson Pantano close to the finish and went straight to the front to set a hard pace. Many were mystified by his strategy but afterwards he revealed that he tried to avoid the fast Enrico Battaglin coming back to the front.

In the end, Polanc paid for his hard work and had to settle for fourth while Cattaneo finished 8th.

" What a beautiful stage," Polanc said. "I really liked getting my first chance in a grand tour. Like all the others, I really struggled but in the final part before the final rise I got more energy when I saw the leaders ahead of me.

"Three kilometres from the line I made a great comeback as I rejoined Cartaldo and Pantano. Immediately I noticed that Battaglin was about to return. I knew that Enrico would be the strongest so I tried to keep going. Unfortunately, I didn't make the difference but I am pleased with fourth."

"After a few kilometers the escape was created, first with 8 riders," CatteneO said. "I joined them immediately. We were in a straight line, saw the attackers and were able to catch them.

"Jan did a good job to attack from the group with another rider and get back to the front. When we started the final climb, I tried to anticipate and take adavnatge of some hesitation. I didn't get much of a gap and when Cataldo attacked I tried to respond. The pace was too high for me so I set a steady pace that allowed me to get a good result."